Kids of HMAS Hammersley
by MM-UP
Summary: Post-season 5: Swain's daughter Chloe is now at school and meets the child of another former Hammersley crew member. Reviews appreciated.
1. My dad is an angel

**Kids of ****HMAS Hammersley**

**Rating: **K

**Summary: **Chloe Blake meets another Hammersley child at school.

**Spoilers:** It's set a few years after Season 5, so better watch all episodes of Sea Patrol before reading.

**Disclaimer:** Sea Patrol's not mine.

* * *

A primary school in Cairns, first day of the new term

"Mum! I'm ten years old and it's not my first day at school!", I protested when my mother gave me a hug. She let go and smiled. "Sorry dear. Have a nice day."

"Yeah mum, you too", I replied, then I entered the schoolground. I looked for my friends, but there were too many people around- teachers, pupils and a crowd of excited little kids (I'm not that tall, but I definitely wasn't as tiny as some of them back in Year One!)

Suddenly I nearly stumbled over a little girl squatting on the ground. "Oh, sorry", I apologized. "What are you doing down there?"

The girl looked up. "There was a really big spider, but it's gone", she explained. Then she got up and smiled at me, showing two missing front teeth. "Do you like spiders?", she asked.

"Well, I don't run away screaming if I see a spider, but I don't wanna keep one as a pet", I said. The little girl giggled: "You can't keep a spider as a pet!"

"Of course you can!" _Oh no,_ I thought. _Now she's gonna annoy her parents till they buy her a pet spider._

I decided to change topic: "What's your name, by the way?"

"Josy. And yours?"

"Chloe... Today's your first day at school, isn't it?"

Josy nodded. "My mum is here and my dad can see me from the sky", she said.

"From the sky? Is he a pilote?"

"No. He's an angel."

I must have looked very confused because she added, "He died before I was born, but now he's an angel and can watch me from up there."

"Oh, okay. In that case, **my** dad is an angel, too", I said. Chris, my dad, had worked on a Navy patrol boat. He hadn't come home very often and had died in an explosion when I was five, so I didn't remember much of him.

The bell rang and everyone made their way into the school building. In our classroom, by best friend Liza and me were seated next to each other, just like before the holidays.

That was the good news. The bad ones was that every Monday morning this term would start with two History lessons (My whole class **hates** History cause the teacher is sooo stupid!)

* * *

A few hours later

The last lesson was over, finally. I threw my stuff into my schoolbag and left the classroom together with my friends.

When we stepped out of the building, Liza said: "Sorry, I have to hurry up. Mum's taking me to the dentist's by car and I think she's already waiting for me..."

I made a face, I didn't like going to the dentist's either. "Well, see you tomorrow, then."

When Liza had left, I turned to my two second best friends Jenny and Katie. "What about you, can we walk home together?", I asked.

"Uhm, sorry, but we have to wait for our little brother. Today's his first day at school", replied Jenny or Katie (They're twins and even their parents sometimes mix their names up!)

Jenny or Katie rolled her eyes: "You know, he'd be perfectly okay if we didn't wait for him..."

"...but Mum thinks he could get lost on the way home or something like that", her sister finished the sentence.

_Sometimes I'm happy to be an only child,_ I thought. "See you tomorrow, then."

* * *

I walked off alone and had nearly arrived at the gate when someone crashed into me from behind. I turned around to complain and saw it was little Josy. "S...sorry", she stuttered.

"Well, next time look the way you're running, okay?" But she had already run off and was now hugging a woman who was obviously her mother.

When I walked up to them, Josy said, "Hi Chloe, this is my mum."

"Yeah, I can tell." Josy's Mum looked like a taller version of her daughter (except for the missing front teeth): quite small, dark hair, blue-green eyes.

"You know Mum, Chloe's dad is an angel, too", Josy said.

"Is he? My condolences, Chloe."

_Condo-what?,_ I thought._ Why do adults always talk in such complicated words? _"Uh, thanks ma'am, but what exactly does 'condolences' mean?", I asked.

"It's another way of saying, 'I'm sorry for you'."

"Oh, thanks", I said for the second time in less than a minute.

"Chloe?" That was Josy. "How did your dad become an angel?"

"Don't be so nosy", her mother said.

"No, it's okay. He was in the Navy and he died in an explosion when I was five."

Josy's mother seemed to be very interested in my story: "He was in the Navy? Do you know the name of the ship he worked on before that explosion?"

"It was a patrol boat called Hammersley. May I ask why you wanna know that?"

"Because I used to work on that ship, too."

"So... you knew my dad?" _Of course she did, patrol boats aren't that big,_ I silently answered my own question.

"Well, there was only one person aboard who had a daughter named Chloe: Petty Officer Coxswain Chris 'Swain' Blake".

"Chris Blake, that was my dad", I agreed. "But 'Swain'..."

"... was his nickname", Josy's mother explained. "Short for coxswain, the person who steers a ship."

"Uh... does everyone in the Navy get a nickname like that?", I asked.

Josy's mother nodded. "Usually it's a short form of their job."

* * *

Josy had been quiet for a few minutes, but now she announced: "On mum's ship, there was a guy named Spider!"

"It wasn't **my **ship, dear, but yes, there was a sailor we called Spider. His actual last name was Webb."

"Well, I hope the nicknames for people with the last name Blake are nicer", I said.

"Why, are you planning to join the Navy after school?", Josy's mother asked.

"Well... yes", I replied.

"I don't", Josy said. "I wanna work in a zoo."

"Where there are lots of spiders, right?", her mother sighed. Josy grinned: "Yes!"

With a sigh, her mother turned back to me. "As far as I know, there's no 'official' nickname for the last name Blake, so it would depend on your job."

"Uhm, I don't know yet what exactly I'd like to do", I admitted.

"That's okay, you still have much time to decide." Josy's mother checked her watch. "I'm afraid we have to leave now. It was nice to meet you Chloe."

"Thanks, same to you..." Then I remembered something: "Josy said her father was an 'angel', too. I'm sorry."

Josy's mother nodded. "He was in the Navy as well." With that, she and Josy turned around and walked away.

* * *

**A/N:** For those who still haven't guessed: Josy's parents are Nikki 'Nav' Caetano and Josh 'ET' Holiday, with ET dying before his daughter was born :-(.

(I thought they should have a daughter because a Year One boy would probably not talk to Chloe and thus make the story a bit short ;-). Since a girl can't be named Joshua jr. and there's apparently no female version of that name, I decided on Josy).

PS: Reviews please! :)


	2. At home

******Kids of HMAS Hammersley Part II**

**A/N: **This was supposed to be a oneshot, but some people wanted me to write a sequel. Here it is :). A bit shorter than the first part, sorry.

* * *

At Chloe's home

"So how was school?", Mum asked.

"Uh, okay. Except that we've got two History lessons every Monday morning this term."

"With the same teacher as last year? The one you didn't like?"

I sighed. "**My whole class** doesn't like him. You know, he just sits there at his desk and reads something out to us from the History book and doesn't give a shit-"

"Watch your language Chloe."

"... sorry mum, he doesn't care at all if anyone's listening or not. Sometimes the boys throw paper airplanes at him and he doesn't even move. Only good thing is that he's already quite old, so he's gonna retire soon."

Mum smiled. "Do you know how old he is? So you can count the years until he retires."

"Well, he's got very little hair and trouble hearing..."

"Alright, so he's **really **old", mum agreed, still smiling. "Is this the only news from school or is there some good ones, too?"

I thought for a moment. "I met a Year One girl whose mother used to work on the same ship as dad."

As always when dad was mentioned, mum's face turned sad and I wished I hadn't said those last words. "Sorry mum", I muttered.

"No, it's okay". She tried to smile, but still looked sad. "What was her name?"

"The little girl's? Josy."

"And the mother's?"

I shrugged, I didn't know.

Now it was mum's turn to think. "What did she look like?", she asked after a while.

"Not that tall, dark hair, blue-green eyes, and two of Josy's front teeth were missing."

Mum thought again. "I think Josy's mother is Lieutenant Caetano, Hammersley's former navigator. Did Josy tell you about her father, too?"

"She only said he was an angel." Seeing mum looking confused, I added, "He died before she was born and she believes he's an angel now."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Josy's house

Josy Caetano was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, making her mother Nikki laugh: "So you liked your first day at school?"

"Oh, yes!", the little girl replied happily. "But now I have to do my homework."

Nikki smiled at the serious look on her daughter's face. "First day at school and you already get homework to do?"

Josy nodded: "We have to make name tags for putting on our desks."

She turned around to walk to her room, but Nikki held her back. "Just a minute dear, then you can go make your name tag. I won't be there for lunch on Friday, my colleague's ill and I'll have to work longer."

"Oh... Who's gonna cook lunch on Friday, then?", Josy asked.

"Well, I've already called Granny, but she has to go to the doctor's on Friday..."

"What about Chloe and her mum?", Josy suggested.

"Josy, you've only met Chloe today and you don't know her mum at all", Nikki pointed out.

"But you do know her."

"I knew Chloe's father, dear. I've met her mother maybe once or twice."

"Do you know her phone number?" Josy obviously really wanted to spend Friday afternoon at Chloe's house.

"No, but I'll look it up at work tomorrow", Nikki promised.

"Thank you mum, can I go do my homework now?", Josy asked. Her mother nodded. Seeing the little girl dashing of, she thought, _There'll be a time when she won't be so eager about working for school anymore... Hopefully not too soon._

* * *

**A/N: **Come on, admit it- you all used to like school back in Year One! :-)

Sorry for leaving you hanging like this, but if you post enough reviews, there'll be another chapter ;).


	3. The favour

**Kids of HMAS Hammersley Part III**

Disclaimer: Sea Patrol's still not mine.

**A/N**: Rating's gone up to K+ for some "bad words".

* * *

Next afternoon

Nikki Caetano was standing in front of the school, waiting for her daughter to come out of the building and thinking, _How am I gonna explain to Josy that I haven't looked up Sally's phone number?_

(It had been a really busy day at NAVCOM Headquarters in Cairns, therefore Nikki just hadn't found the time to look it up- but how to explain that to a six-year-old?)

* * *

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a blonde woman walking up to her and asking, "Excuse me, have we met before?"

The first answer coming to Nikki's mind was, _No, sorry, you must be mistaking me for someone else. _The second one she said aloud: "Maybe, but I'm afraid I don't remember you..."

"My name is Sally Blake", the blonde woman introduced herself, and suddenly Nikki knew who she was: "You have a daughter named Chloe who attends this school, doesn't she?"

When Sally nodded, Nikki went on: "And your husband was in the Navy?" Sally nodded again, this time looking like she was ready to cry.

"I'm sorry", Nikki apologized before extending her hand and introducing herself as, "Lieutenant Nikki Caetano, former navigator of HMAS Hammersley."

They shook hands and Sally's face lit up: "I know I had seen you before! But what are you doing here, if I may ask?"

"The same as you, picking my daughter up from school."

"Oh, you have a daughter, too? How old is she?"

Nikki smiled. "Six, yesterday was her first day at school."

Sally seemed to think. "Chloe told me she met a Year One girl whose father is... well..."

"He died before Josy was born." Nikki's smile had disappeared and her tone made it clear that she didn't want to talk about this topic.

"My condolences, Lieutenant", Sally said into the silence.

"Thank you. And please, call me Nikki, we're not on a Navy ship."

"Fine, but only if you call me Sally."

"Okay Sally." Nikki checked her watch. "What the heck are the kids doing in there? The bell rang like twenty minutes ago!"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the school building

"Chloe!"

I turned around and saw Josy wrestling her way through the crowd. "Who's that?", Liza asked me, confused. Before I could reply, Josy was already standing in front of us.

"I'm Josy!", she said. "And this is Ben, he's in my class." 'This' was the red-haired boy who was standing next to Josy and looking even smaller than her.

"Uhm, I'm Liza... How did you meet Chloe?", Liza asked.

"Well, she was squatting on the ground watching a spider and I nearly fell over her", I explained. Liza shuddered: "Spiders, yuck!"

"I like spiders", Josy announced, making Liza shudder again: "I don't."

They'd probably have discussed about spiders for a very long time if it hadn't been for little Ben stating, "I think we should move, we're standing in the doorway."

So we left the building and had walked about five steps when we heard someone calling, "Liza! Chloe! Wait!"

A few seconds later, Jenny and Katie arrived. "Hey, have you seen our little brother?", one of them asked.

"I'm here, stupid!" Ben sounded insulted, and I couldn't blame him. He was small, yes, but his red hair was quite striking.

"Sorry, we...", one of the twins started, "...just wanted to make sure you're okay", her sister finished. Ben nodded. "I'm fine. Look, this is Josy from my class."

"Hi Josy", Jenny and Katie said together, and then we all walked off towards the gate.

* * *

Just like yesterday, Josy's mum was standing there waiting for her daughter. And right next to her, there was **my **mother. _What's she doing here?, _I wondered (Usually I walked home from school with my friends).

"Hey mum", I said when we arrived at the gate. "Don't you have to be at work?"

Mum grinned. "Am I not allowed to leave a little earlier and pick you up from school?"

"Well, yes, of course, but...", I stuttered. "Uh, by the way... this is Josy and this is Jenny's and Katie's little brother Ben."

"Hello, nice to meet you", the two first-year students said politely. "Nice to meet you, too", mum replied. "Josy, you look exactly like your mother!"

Josy grinned and mum quickly corrected herself: "Well, except for your missing teeth."

* * *

Again, it was Ben who reminded us that we were blocking the way. We walked through the gate and then Josy's mum asked: "Sally? Could you do me a favour?"

"I hope so", mum replied. "What kind of favour?"

"Well, a colleague of mine is ill, that's why I'll have to work longer on Friday and I don't want Josy to be alone all afternoon", Josy's mum explained. "I would've asked my mother, but she's got a doctor's appointment..."

"You want me to babysit Josy?", mum asked. "Sure, no problem!"

Josy's mum let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Sally. If you ever need a babysitter for Chloe..."

"Hey, I'm ten years old, I don't need a babysitter!", I protested. If anyone wanted to say anything about that, they decided to do without it because it suddenly started raining really hard and everyone ran away looking for some roof or tree to stand underneath.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah Chloe, we know you're a big girl :). Please keep reviewing (Does that word exist? Anyway, next chapter will be set on Friday).


	4. Friday

**Kids of HMAS Hammersley Part IV- **Friday afternoon at Chloe's house

* * *

"Josy, you've got spaghetti sauce all over your face", I pointed out.

"Well, not exactly all over your face..."

Before mum could finish her sentence, Josy swallowed the spaghetti she was chewing and asked, "Could I have a napkin, please?"

Mum went to the kitchen to get one and Josy used it. "Thanks", she said. "I loooove spaghetti, but they're just so difficult to eat!"

* * *

After lunch, I asked: "So what are we gonna do till Josy's mum arrives? Do you have any homework to do?"

Josy shook her head: "I already did them at school. But I could help with **your** homework!"

"Well, thanks, but... Do you really think you can help with Year Five homework?"

Josy shrugged. "I can try, can't I?"

"Okay..." _I'll just make her sit on my bed and play something quiet while I work._

* * *

Chloe's room

"Wow, your room is **big**!", Josy exclaimed when I opened the door.

"Uh, well, yeah", I agreed. "So... you wanna sit on the bed or somewhere and play something while I do my homework?"

Josy shook her head: "I said I was gonna try and help you."

"No offense, but I don't think you can help me. Remember, it's Year **Five **homework. You are in Year **One**."

"I'll never know if I can help you if I don't try, right?"

I sighed. "When you talk to your mum, is it like that, too?"

"Like what?"

"That you never accept a no for an answer."

"Oh yes." Josy smirked. "So, where's your homework?"

Sighing again, I rummaged through my schoolbag till I had found my Math book. "In here. Page five, first task."

I sat down at my desk and opened the book on page five. Josy stood next to me and peeked into the book over my shoulder.

"So what's this about?", she asked.

"It's Steve's birthday and he has invited five of his friends", I read out from the book. "The area of Steve's birthday cake-"

"Birthday cake, yummy!"

"-the area of Steve's birthday cake", I repeated a little louder, "is 600 square inches. What is the area of the piece of cake everyone gets? All pieces should be the same size."

"Okay, that circle next to the task is the cake, isn't it?"

I nodded. "And those stupid smilies around it are the faces of Steve and his friends. Each of them gets a piece of cake, that's five pieces, so 600 divided by five..."

"Six", Josy said.

"Six? Why six?", I asked, confused.

"Steve and his five friends, that's six people", she explained.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Thanks." _Great, a six-year-old is telling me how to do my math homework..._

* * *

About two hours later, the doorbell rang and Sally went to open the door.

"Good evening, how are you?", Nikki Caetano asked.

"Fine, thanks. And you?"

"A bit tired, long day at work... How's Josy?"

Right at this point, Josy came walking- or better running- to the door and threw herself into her mother's arms, making Nikki stumble backwards.

"Hey Jo, I'm happy to see you, too, but next time be a bit more careful, okay? You nearly knocked me over!"

Josy smiled and let go. "Sorry mum."

Nikki was smiling as well. "So what did you do all afternoon that you still have so much energy to burn?"

"I helped Chloe with her homework!", Josy explained proudly.

"Well, you helped me with **one task** and I would've managed that on my own, too." Chloe had joined the others in the hallway while they were talking.

"No, you wouldn't! With you solving the task, Steve wouldn't have gotten any cake!"

"So what? Steve's too fat ayway!"

"But is was his birthday and you can't get no cake on your own birthday!"

"Who exactly is Steve?" That was Nikki.

"A boy from Chloe's Math book", Sally explained. "Would you like to come in, by the way?"

"Thanks, but no. My parents are visiting on Sunday and I still have to clean the house. Josy, where have you put your shoes?"

* * *

Josy frowned. "Please mum, can I stay here a little longer? You always say I'm just standing in your way when you're cleaning the house!"

Nikki couldn't help but laugh. "Not when you're tidying up your own room while I'm cleaning."

"My room **is** tidy", Josy stated. "Well, at least tidier than Chloe's."

"Be happy you're so small, if you were taller, I'd punch you for that. Really hard", Chloe growled.

"Well, I think I'd punch you back", Josy retorted happily.

"Okay, we better leave now before there's any violence", Nikki cut in. "Josy, have you found your shoes?"

The girl gave a mock salute: "Yes ma'am!"

"Wrong hand Jo."

Josy dropped her shoes and saluted again, then sat down to put her shoes on. When she was done, she got up and said, "Bye Chloe, bye Chloe's mum!"

_Hm, _I thought when the door had closed. _Seems like Josy kinda has adopted me as her big sister... Let's see how that will go on..._

* * *

**A/N 1:** From now on, what will happen is left to your imagination :).

**A/N 2: **The saluting-with-the-wrong-hand-thingy was inspired by Abby Sciuto from NCIS.


End file.
